Offender walks away from Oroville reentry facility

October 15, 2018

OROVILLE — California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are looking for James Betti, 31, who walked away from the Butte County Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP) facility in Oroville on Monday, October 15, 2018.

An emergency search was conducted after being notified at approximately 4:55 p.m. tonight that Betti’s GPS device had been tampered with, and that he had not returned from a pass. Betti’s GPS device was found in Oroville near Montgomery Street and Washington, approximately two miles from the MCRP.

Notification was immediately made to local law enforcement agencies. Agents from CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety were dispatched to locate and apprehend Betti.

Betti is 6 feet tall and weighs about 199 pounds. He was received by CDCR from Butte County on October 13, 2017 with a five-year sentence for vehicle theft with a prior. Betti was transferred from the Correctional Training Facility to the MCRP on June 4, 2018. He was scheduled to be discharged to Probation in July 2019.

Anyone who sees Betti or has any knowledge of his whereabouts should immediately contact law enforcement or call 911.

The MCRP allows eligible offenders committed to state prison to serve the end of their sentences in the re-entry center and provides them the programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to the community. It is a voluntary program for male offenders who have approximately one year left to serve. The program links offenders to a range of community-based rehabilitative services that assist with substance use disorders, mental health care, medical care, employment, education, housing, family reunification and social support.

Since 1977, 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp, or community-based program without permission have been apprehended.